From Beneath Me
by lateVMlover
Summary: This is the next story in the "Brother's Love" series that follows "The Calm Before the Storm." Season 7 unfolding as the First has pulled the Avengers into its plan, pushing up the Age of Ultron events.
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place just a few weeks after "The Calm Before the Storm," putting it in the middle of the fall semester of the school year. As Buffy always premiered toward end of October, it's close to the timeline of the show. In the ****_Avengers_**** world, the events of ****_Captain America 2_**** have taken place, and I've pushed up the ****_Avengers 2_**** timeline. The events of ****_Age of Ultron _****will unfold in this story somewhat.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_BTVS_**** or any of the Marvel characters. None of these characters are mine, only the story is mine.**

Chapter 1: Ghostly Warnings

*****_Cleveland*****_

Loki, adopted son of Odin and Frigga, was now in disguise and attending a public university—or at least pretending to. He was enrolled in one class, a world history class. He decided to learn something about Midgard as his opinion of the planet had undergone a dramatic change since meeting Tara. He had, of course, created the appropriate paper trail that would show him registered as a graduate student. In case anyone checked up on Luke Olson, he would appear to be what he claimed. The class he was taking would give him a real reason to be on campus and possibly spotted coming out of class.

Tara, of course, saw through his disguise when she came into the Magic Box during her weekend in Ohio, visiting her friends. It had taken much fast talking, but he had convinced her to keep his secret.

"Why aren't you in New York on my campus?" Tara had asked.

"Because I knew that your other half would eventually penetrate my disguise," he admitted.

Loki had made a point of not running into Willow while she was visiting the others, and he had promised to call Tara regularly. Tara knew he had a point, and she promised not to share his identity when he convinced her that he was there to help only.

He had procured a very nice house a few blocks away from the Magic Box.

It had taken him about a week to finally run into the lovely Cordelia.

"Wes," Cordelia called out as she came into the Magic Box.

Loki came from the back. "May I help you?" he asked.

Cordelia eyed the handsome stranger. "Who the hell are you?" he asked.

"Cordelia, is that any way to speak to my new employee?" Wesley said, appearing from behind a shelf.

"That's the new guy?" Cordelia asked in surprise. The man was taller and hotter than Wesley—clearly younger, too. He didn't look like a book nerd of any kind. He had dark hair and green eyes. Why did he seem familiar to her?

"This is Luke Olson, a graduate student at your school," Wesley introduced. "Luke, this is Cordelia Chase, one of the girls Xander has known since high school."

"That guy is surrounded by beautiful women," Luke said, smiling at Cordelia. "He's very lucky."

Cordelia flashed the new guy a smile. Of course, she didn't know him. He just had one of those faces—a very attractive face. "Glad to meet you, Luke. So is Vader your father or what?" she asked.

Loki blinked. "Excuse me?" he asked. Did she know who he was?

"Luke isn't American, Cordelia, and he probably isn't familiar with _Star Wars_," Wesley said.

Cordelia laughed. "That's okay. I've known enough geeks, so you're forgiven," she said.

Loki smiled at her, happy that she seemed comfortable with him. Maybe this would work after all.

After a few weeks, he became comfortable with his new role and was able to interact with the group with ease.

The problem came when he woke up, sensing eyes on him. Abruptly, he sat up, scanning the room for the threat that he knew was there.

"Who's there?" he demanded. He reached for the lamp next to his bed and turned it on.

Buffy Summers, a girl he knew personally since being in Ohio, was in his bedroom staring down at him with an expression on her face that unsettled him.

"Buffy? What is wrong? Why are you here?" he asked. She had never shown any romantic interest in him as her eyes were solely focused on the broken soldier boy.

"I'm here, Loki Oldenson, to offer you an entire planet to rule," she said, shocking Loki.

He stood, not caring that he was clothed in only black silk sleeping pants and shirtless. "How do you know who I am?" he asked. "Did Tara tell you?"

The woman laughed. "I'm disappointed in you, the supposed god of mischief and master of disguise," she said.

Loki's eyes narrowed as he realized that it wasn't Buffy Summers but someone or something wearing her face. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I am the First, and if you want to join my team, I can make you the last and only ruler of this planet," she offered.

_*****Sunnydale*****_

Faith dropped the coffee she was drinking as her old watcher Diana appeared in front of her.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed.

"From beneath you it devours," her dead Watcher said.

"What? Am I dreaming? Is this a slayer dream?" she asked.

She heard a commotion across the hall, and a crash. Her attention was diverted for a minute. Then Diana was gone.

"Okay, something is freakier than normal," she said. Then she walked to her apartment door. Steve was across her hall, but he was out of town, working. He'd been gone for the past month. She knew from the news reports that things had been bad for him. Even the United States government seemed to be confused about his hero status, which pissed Faith off. How dare anyone question that guy's integrity? Luckily, it all came out. SHIELD had been infiltrated with spies or some shit. Faith didn't follow it much, but he did manage to get his old friend Bucky back. Faith had been glad for him.

Canada opened her door. "What is happening? My dead grandmother just appeared to me!" she exclaimed.

"Yea, I had a ghostly encounter, too," Faith said. "Call the team to the Magic Box. We need to compare notes. Something is about to go down in Sunnyhell." Faith could feel it. Her cell phone rang, drawing her back into her apartment. She'd been out of jail almost a year now. Working with Steve and Natasha had given her a new passion for the job because they believed in her and inspired her. Faith had been determined to not let them down, to not let Buffy down. So far, she hadn't, and she wasn't about to let that change now.

Speaking of Buffy, she was on the phone. "Hey, B. What's up? Everything five by five?" She asked.

"You tell me," Buffy said grimly. "My dead mother was just here."

"Joyce? No shit? I just got my dead Watcher," Faith said. "I guess she was more important than my dead mother."

"Did she say 'From beneath you it devours'?" Buffy asked.

"Yes. Canada got a grandmother visit, so something is going on," Faith said.

"I wonder if I need to come to Sunnydale?" Buffy asked.

"Not yet. I'll let you know if things start going south," Faith said. She knew a time would come when she'd need Buffy's help. However, Buffy was flourishing in Ohio. She even started back to school at the beginning of the year. Besides, Faith didn't want big sis to come save her unless things were bad.

Buffy hung up feeling more than a little disturbed. She pulled out her phone to call Clint.

"Did I wake you?" she asked as he answered the phone on the fourth ring.

"Well, it's the middle of the night, so what do you think?" he asked.

"Sorry," she said. "I was just freaked out and wanted to talk to you."

Clint sat up in his bed, concerned and wide awake. "What happened?" he demanded.

Buffy filled him in on her visit and what else she knew.

"From beneath you it devours," he murmured. "That sounds ominous. What do you think it means?"

"Something bad is coming," Buffy said. "I just don't think it's here."

"You think something big is going to go down in Sunnydale?" Clint asked.

"Yes," she said. "I haven't had a slayer dream, but Faith and Canada were also visited. I'm going to poll everyone and see if they had the same experience here. If I'm the only one, it will definitely indicate that this baby hellmouth is in the clear."

"Well, it's been a while since someone's tried to open the hellmouth in Sunnydale," Clint acknowledged.

"True," Buffy said. "I think you better contact Tony and have Steve sent back to Sunnydale if he's free."

"I can do that," Clint said. "You be careful."

"Always," she said. "I love you."

"Love you," he said, hanging up.

Laura roused enough to open her eyes. "She okay?" she asked.

Clint nodded. "Yes. Just something on the horizon rattled her," he said. It took a lot to rattle his sister, so he knew it was going to be a challenge whatever was coming.

*****_A few days later*****_

Buffy and Buck were researching with Luke, the new guy at the Magic Box.

Luke produced a book. "I think I found something," he said. He showed her a passage in a book.

Buffy read the page. "The evil came from below after it came from above. It claimed the Earth for its own. It planted the seeds of evil into the hearts of men. Brother killed brother and its power grew. The evil was more ancient than humanity, so humanity could not prevail against it. They called it the First as it was the first evil birth on the Earth," she read. Then she looked up at Bucky. "This could be it. We need to send this page to Faith."

"I agree," Bucky said.

"Good find, Luke," she said.

"Thanks," he said. It was easy for his magic to pull the documents he needed. He didn't even have to fake it.

When Faith got the information, she sighed.

"Okay, that sounds like our guy," Faith said. "Can you fax a copy of that to Giles?"

"Will do. Let me know if things heat up and you need me," Buffy told her.

"I will," Faith said, hanging up. Then she called Steve.

"Steve, I might need you to come back to Sunnydale," she told him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She filled him in.

"I'll speak to Fury, and Nat and I will head your way as soon as I can," he said.

"Thanks," Faith said. She knew she could handle things without him, but she felt better knowing he and Natasha would be there. She had a feeling that things were about to get very complicated on the hellmouth.

*****_Ohio*****_

Loki was alone in his apartment after sharing information with his new friends. He sipped a glass of wine as he considered his next move. How powerful was this being really?

She appeared once again. "Things are about to get so fun," she said.

"It's important that you love what you do," he said amicably.

"You gave them the information to aid in finding out who I am?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. "If you are as strong as you say you are, it shouldn't make a difference."

"It won't," she said. "Even now my chosen disciples are purging this world of any who could help. Time tables are being reset as we speak."

"That will make things much more interesting," he said easily.

The First wearing Buffy's face smiled in satisfaction. "You have no idea," it said.

*****_New York*****_

Willow lost the argument with Tony, and he decided his new Ultron program was ready to go. She'd help him work out all the kinks, afraid that something that massive would be open to evil possession like her horrible experience in high school. However, Tony and Bruce built extra safeguards, so they wanted to run a test.

They had no idea of the snake in their midst. They had no idea that as soon as they turned it on a malevolent spirit corrupted it, breaking through the extra safeguards.

A few floors below, Warren's grandfather, who had died when he was eight years old, look on proudly as Warren put the finishing touches on his newest creation.

The robot was a flawless replica of Pepper Potts.

"This is brilliant, my dear boy. Tony will never be able to destroy the face of his beloved Pepper," he said.

"Eventually, he will," Warren said. "This is just meant as both a compliment to the very formidable Ms. Potts and a stab at Tony."

"Are you willing to risk everything for this?" his grandfather asked.

"Tony needs to see exactly what I can do," Warren said. "She is my finest creation, and with Tony and Willow's new project, Ultron will find a very good home."

Grandfather laughed. "I do love the eloquence of this. They've created the weapon that will destroy everything they've built," he said. "The slayers won't be getting the help they expect."

A few stories up, Tony was hosting a small gathering of his friends. Steve got a call from Faith and moved to speak to Nat when it happened.

The Ultron program awoke and began to consume JARVIS.

Moments later, Warren's new robot opened her eyes.

"It's time," Warren said. "She's ready for the download."

The First smiled in satisfaction. Destroying slayers was going to be fun but destroying the Avengers initiative before it really flourished was going to be a real treat.

The fun was just beginning.

*****_Chapter End*****_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: An Attack Begins

_*****Ohio*****_

Xander just finished getting dressed and was getting ready to head to work. He knew about the weird warnings, but Anya—or the First as her—had not visited him. Although he'd love to see her again, he didn't want her form used, and he was grateful none had visited him. However, when he went into his living room, he saw the All-Father sitting at the kitchen table. Bucky was asleep again on the couch. Sleep was hard for him, and he often got up in the middle of the night and watched TV.

Xander smiled as he picked up the remote to turn the television off. "Good morning, sir," he said. "What brings you here?"

"That man on your couch. Is he close to you?" he asked.

"You're here because of Bucky?" he asked in surprised.

Odin shook his head. "No, I am not here because of him," he said. "I was just curious as he has a very restless sleep."

"He was kidnapped by Hydra and brainwashed with technology that controlled him," Xander explained. "He was a hero and was twisted and used to murder good people. It's a lot for him to live with. The energy of the hellmouth probably isn't good for him, but he cares about Buffy."

Odin got up and moved to the sofa, and his normal staff was suddenly in his hand. He stepped closer to Bucky and held the staff above Bucky's head. His eyes closed as he stood silent while Xander watched on.

"I can see his turmoil," Odin said. "The hole in his head where the spider web used to be is not healed. At times, he is not who he was."

Xander frowned. "The device is still there? He's not safe?" he asked in concern.

"No, that is not so. His brain is not completely whole. Pieces of him are not there," Odin said.

"Can you help him?" he asked.

"I cannot help every human you care about," Odin said. "That is not my role. I am here because I sense a great evil stalking you and all you care about."

Xander nodded. "I know. It's the First Evil," he said.

Odin frowned, looking disturbed. "That is unfortunate," he said. "Ancient evils have powers none on Midgard have."

"Well, we will need all the help we can get," Xander said. "Can you help, Bucky?" he asked.

Odin nodded. "Possibly," he said. He held his staff above Bucky, who slept on fitfully. He was reluctant to get further involved as his son was already completely embroiled in the affairs of Midgardian. However, Odin he touched Xander, marking him for all time. Xander was a good and faithful man, one worthy of Asgard. He had lost his love and still carried on. Odin felt a responsibility toward the man and found that he could not easily dismiss his request.

"Look, I know it's not your job to fix every broken person on Earth, but you made the choice to become involved in my life," Xander said. "This man is my friend, and he has given his life—really two lives—to serve and protect. He is a real hero and what was done to him was not right."

"The world if full of people who have had things done to them that aren't right," Odin pointed out.

"Yet you decided to mark me. You decided Spike needed a soul and that Willow needed to be helped," Xander pointed out.

Odin sighed, knowing the man was not wrong. "Fine," he said in resignation. He lifted his staff, holding it above Bucky's head. Then the staff began to glow, and Bucky's eyes shot open. He screamed, and Xander moved to hold him down, to reassure him.

"It's okay, Bucky. The All-Father is helping you," Xander told him.

Bucky stopped fighting as the power of the All-Father washed over him.

Buffy kicked open the door. "What the hell's going on?" she asked. Then she realized that it was the All-Father, and her instinct to attack was checked.

"Don't freak, Buffy," Xander said. "The All-Father is healing him."

Buffy frowned but slowly walked toward the couch and looked down. Bucky seemed to be in pain, but she had to trust that Odin was trying to make things better. Finally, the All-Father stopped what he was doing.

"It is done," he said.

"You fixed the damage?" Xander asked.

Odin nodded. "I did," he said. Then he turned to Buffy. "Your resurrection has awakened an old enemy, allowing him to get a foothold into Midgard."

"Is that why we've all had dead people appear to us saying 'From beneath you it devours'?" Buffy asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Do you know if it's the First Evil? We've had some sources that alluded to that," Buffy said.

"The First Evil?" Odin asked. "He would claim such a thing—arrogant as always. His name used to be K'ass, which in some ancient languages can be translated into the word evil. However, he was not the first evil. Nor was he originally from Midgard."

"Really?" Buffy asked. "We'd appreciate anything you could tell us, sir."

"He was one of the original Elementals that helped form the universe. His powers were not as strong as some of the others, and he grew bitter and resentful," Odin said. "He worked a deal with Osiris to help feed off the energy of dead souls, but he grew too greedy. The Elementals joined together to strip him of most of his power, binding him to the spirit realm only. He is not corporeal."

"So we can't kill him?" she asked.

"He will probably seek to empower a chosen agent or vessel of some kind," Odin said.

"Okay," Buffy said. "Thanks." She looked down at Bucky, who finally opened his eyes.

"What the hell was that?" Bucky asked, raising up.

"How do you feel?" Buffy asked, sitting next to him.

Bucky blinked and considered the question. "Actually, I feel fine—now," he said. "There was pain and heat a moment ago." He turned and saw the All-Father. "Who is that?"

"This is Thor's daddy, the All-Father. He healed any damage leftover in your brain from Hydra," Xander introduced. "Sir, this is James. His friends call him Bucky."

"You are the winter solider no more," Odin told him. "The holes in your memories, the blank spots have been restored. Your pain should be greatly diminished."

Bucky nodded. "It is. Thank you, sir," he said.

"You are welcome," Odin said. He looked at Xander. "Be careful. Use the vision that I have given you to see through the evil that will seek you out. Be mindful of new friends as K'ass is a great deceiver." Then he disappeared without a sound.

"Man, is he cool," Xander said. "I wanna be that cool some day!"

"I'm not sure miracles like that can happen," Buffy teased. She turned to Bucky, putting her hand on his cheek. "So what do you feel?"

"I feel fine," he said. "Better than I have in recent memory. What did he do? Why did he do it?"

"I was about to start some coffee, and he was just sitting there," Xander said. "He was worried about me, but you were obviously having a nightmare. He said that the spider web in your head had left holes, so I asked him to heal you."

Bucky stood and held out his hand to Xander. "Thanks, Xander. You can't know the peace I feel already," he said. Xander put his hand in Bucky's, who pulled him close for a tight hug.

Buffy grinned at the sight. Bucky was providing Xander with some much needed male companionship, and all was right with her world.

*****_New York*****_

Tony was drinking his coffee when Pepper came in dressed in workout clothes. "Where did you go to so early?" he asked.

"Willow and I are taking a yoga class together," she said.

"Not Tara?" he asked.

Pepper shook her head. "Tara says it's wrong to exercise before the sun is at its peak," she said with a chuckle.

"She's got a point," Tony said with a grin.

"So what's on your agenda today?" Pepper said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"I don't know," he said. "JARVIS, what's on my agenda?"

There was no answer.

He hit his Bluetooth. "JARVIS? Are you taking a nap?" he asked.

Silence greeted him.

Alarmed, he stood up and went to his computer terminal and threw JARVIS' system on the far wall. "Get Bruce and Willow up here now," he said to Pepper.

"What's wrong?" Pepper asked, pulling out her phone and sending the texts.

"JARVIS has been destroyed," Tony said, feeling sick. JARVIS was like his child, an extension of himself.

"What?" Pepper asked in shock. "How is that possible?"

"I don't f***ing know," he bit out. "I need Bruce and Willow."

She called Willow. "Hurry, Willow. He needs you now," she said.

Bruce made it there first. "What's happening, Tony?" he asked as he came in.

"It's JARVIS," Tony said, looking upset. He pointed at the screen. "He's gone, Bruce. Someone or something has killed him."

Bruce stared at the data in dismay. "What?" he asked. "How is that possible?"

Tony had no idea, but he was both pissed and heartbroken. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out," he said. Whoever took JARVIS from him was going to pay.

*****_Sunnydale*****_

Giles was in the Magic Box doing inventory when the phone rang. He stepped away to take the call. He'd been back in town just a week or so, and he was trying to get a handle on the stock they had in house.

Faith came in with Canada. "Where's Giles?" she wondered. "Giles!"

Giles came from behind the back. "I'm here," he said. "I just got a call from the Council."

"Well, I just got a call from Xander," Faith said. "Odin appeared to him and warned him about our new enemy, the First. Except—get this—Odin called him by his real name K'ass." She shared the details.

"This is incredible information. I will consult me books," Giles said, distracted.

"What's wrong?" Faith said. "I figured the K'ass would at least get a smile. He's got ass written in his name, Giles! And I didn't make that up!"

"I got a call from my father. He said that someone has been targeting potentials. Three have been murdered in the past week. The first two they thought might've just been perils of the job, but after the third, the Council is beginning to think they're being targeted," he shared.

"God," Faith said, freaked. "What are they going to do?"

"Try their best to protect all the ones they can," he said. "In the meantime, we'll see what else we can find out about this Elemental the All-Father identified."

"I can't believe the big guy showed up to Xander again," Canada said.

"I believe he feels a strong bond with Xander," Giles said. "When all is said and done, Xander is basically favored of the gods—at least that's what they would say back in the old days."

"Xander also said that Odin fixed Bucky," Faith said. "The leftover damage to his brain—he healed Bucky."

"That's wonderful," Giles said. "I am sure Buffy is very happy about that."

"Well, she's nuts about him. Knowing he was suffering still and not being able to help him was making her nuts," Faith said.

"But he's okay now?" Giles asked.

Faith nodded. "Yes, Buffy said he could already sense the difference inside," she said.

The door to the Magic Box opened, and a very attractive black man stepped in. "Hello," Giles said, putting on his work hat. "How may I assist you?"

The man stepped closer and smiled. "I am Robin Wood," he said. He glanced at the girls, but he kept his attention on Giles. "I'm the principal at the high school."

"Really? Well, if you're here in need of a librarian, I'm afraid I'm not in a position to help you," Giles said.

"No, actually, I'm looking for a Watcher," Robin said bluntly.

Faith tensed, prepared for anything.

"And how would you know that word?" Giles asked.

"Because my mother was Nikki Wood," he said.

Giles' eyes widened as he recognized the name. "Oh dear," he muttered, taking off his glasses and cleaning them.

"What the hell does that mean? Who is Nikki Wood?" Faith demanded.

"She was a vampire slayer," Robin said grimly. "Like you are."

Faith looked surprised as this man she didn't know knew things he shouldn't. "Slayers can have kids?" Canada asked.

"Most didn't live long enough to do so," Giles said, putting his glasses back on. "However, your mother was extraordinary."

"Until she was killed by a vampire named William the Bloody," Robin said.

Canada's eyes widened, and she gave Faith a look. Faith winced, looking at Giles.

Of course, it was the hellmouth and if something could go wrong, it did.

Spike chose that moment to enter the shop with his smoking blanket overhead.

"Hey, Watcher-man," Spike said, pulling it done. "What demons are on the menu tonight?"

Now it was Robin's turn to look surprised as he recognized Spike as the vampire who murdered his mother.

"Bloody hell!" Giles exclaimed. Talk about bad timing. . .

*****_To Be Continued*****_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Totally Unexpected

*****_*Where We Left Off, Sunnydale*****_

Giles decided diplomacy was the answer. "Sir, would you come to the back with me? My office?" he suggested.

Robin glanced at the vampire he knew had killed his mother. However, he had been raised by a very intelligent Watcher, and he knew the value of strategy. "Yes," he agreed.

When they were at the desk Giles kept in the back, he gestured to the only other chair. "Please have a seat," he gestured.

Robin sat down. "I know you don't know me, but I was hoping we could become allies," he said.

"Having someone in the high school that knows what's really happening would be an asset," Giles said. "I assume that you were raised by your mother's Watcher?"

Robin nodded. "Yes, she had no other family," he said.

"So you are trained and probably fluent in several languages," Giles said and Robin nodded. "That is good. Are you aware that your school is directly over the hellmouth?"

Robin's eyes widened. "Actually, I wasn't aware of that," he said.

"The bloody idiots built the high school right where the other one was, ignoring all the problems that came out of the school," Giles said.

"That's disturbing," he said. "Do you think one of your people should possibly work at the school to keep an eye on things?"

"We have three government agents working with us," Giles said. "I will speak to them. We also have one or more Avenger here at any given time."

"Really? That's impressive," Robin said. "Do they know you allow a murderous vampire to work with you also?"

Giles grimaced. "I can imagine how upsetting it is to see your mother's killer, but I can explain," he said. He spent several minutes discussing Buffy's first encounter with Spike to the help he gave with Angelus to the chip and then his ensouling.

"So you think this soul makes everything he did okay?" Robin asked.

"William's demon killed your mother, and the vampire he is now does nothing but help humanity," Giles said. "Before he got his soul, I would have sent him to hell myself, but the Avengers appreciated his skills and like having another superpowered individual helping Faith when they can't be here. Now, though, he is not the one who killed your mother—his demon it. It would be wrong to punish for that crime when he wasn't even present."

"But you keep an eye on him?" Robin asked.

"A sharp one," he said.

Robin nodded. "I can accept that," he said. "I just want to keep a lid on the hellmouth and keep my students alive."

He stood, so Giles stood with him. "I can understand that. I spent three years working at the school under the later principal, who was an offensive tyrant," Giles said. "He hated his students."

"That definitely is not me," Robin said. "If one of the agents would like a job as a security guard or something or even your slayer, it'd give them a reason to be around and keep an eye on things."

"That's a good idea," Giles said. "I will discuss it with them."

He walked Robin to the front, and after he left, Faith asked, "How did it go?"

"Mr. Wood won't be a problem," Giles said. "I explained that the killer of his mother was no longer who Spike was."

"Faith told me," Spike said. "His mother was a fine lass. She fought well. I got my jacket from her."

"How about you never repeat that to Robin?" Giles said grimly. "Avoid the man as much as possible just to be safe. He was raised by a Watcher, so he will be a good asset for us. As the principal of the high school, he can help us keep a lid on things over there."

"The stupid gits built the new school in the same place as the old one," Spike commented. "They'll never learn."

"No, they won't," Giles agreed. He looked at Faith. "He suggested that you or one of the agents might want to have a job at the school as a security guard or something. Something that'd give you an excuse to be there to keep an eye on things."

"That's a good idea," Faith said. "I'll talk to Canada. She and I can split up the week."

"Something is coming, so the hellmouth will start becoming a problem real soon," Giles said. The phone rang. "Hello? Hi, Cordelia. Is everything all right?"

Spike and Faith waited while he listened to Cordelia. The news was upsetting by the "Oh dear," Giles muttered. Then he looked at Spike and frowned.

"It must be bad," Faith said.

Giles said goodbye. "Cordelia had a vision about you, Spike. You were killing humans," he said.

"What?" Spike said. "That's not possible. I can't."

"Is your chip still working?" Faith asked.

"Let's see," he said. Spike went over to Giles and tried to punch him. Giles moved back from the fist, and Spike screamed in pain as the chip activated, punishing him for his actions. "It still works."

"Do you think Cordelia is right?" Faith asked Giles.

"I don't believe she's ever wrong," he said.

"What should we do?" Faith wondered.

"There's no way that was me," Spike said. "The new big bad impersonates people. Maybe it's borrowing my face."

"That's a possibility," Giles acknowledged.

"Or maybe the First has plans for Spike," Faith said. "Should we get him off the hellmouth for a while?"

"That's a good idea," Giles said.

"I could go visit Little Bit," Spike said, brightening at the thought. "She still mad that I didn't go see her in the play back in May."

"I'm sure there's another one this semester," Giles said. "That would be a good idea. I will speak to Clint. With all the unrest with SHIELD, he might not mind having you around to keep an eye out while he's working."

Spike looked at Faith. "You be okay with one less fighter?" he asked.

"Well, Natasha's supposed to be here soon," she said.

"Okay then," Spike said.

"But if there's a possibility that you could turn homicidal, you shouldn't be around Dawn," Faith said, not happy at the thought.

"I'd never hurt Dawn!" he protested.

Faith looked at Giles. "Was the vision hellmouth specific?" she wondered.

Giles nodded. "You were in the vision fighting Spike, so I'd say so," he admitted.

Faith frowned. "Seriously? Well, I guess a change of location won't be a bad thing," she said. "Because I'd totally dust your ass if it came down to it."

"You'd try," Spike said, glaring.

"I'll go call Clint," Giles said. He didn't know what spurred Cordelia's vision, but he knew that her visions, unlike what Xander saw, could be prevented.

*****_Ohio*****_

Cordelia was glad Giles was the one who answered. She didn't want to share the vision with Faith and have her slay out of hand. The lamp flickered, getting her attention. "I know, Dennis," she said. "I'm running late for my doctor's appointment." She grabbed her keys and headed to the car.

It'd been about a month since her drunken hook up with Xander, and she knew it was past time for her to get back on birth control. Sure, she and Xander were not interested in repeating their drunken sexapades. However, she hoped to have sex again with someone, and she wanted to be responsible. The new guy Luke was looking cuter every time she saw him. He had Wesley's brain power, but he was much hunkier. Last week, she'd had a period and realized that her slip could've had a very different result, so it was time to do the right thing.

Needing to save time, she called Buffy from her car instead of telling her in person about her latest vision about Spike.

"Seriously? Spike was killing?" Buffy asked in surprise. "He has a soul and a chip. How would that work?"

"I don't know. I'm just telling you what I saw," Cordelia said. "Could've been the First imitating him or doing a whammy on him. Either way, I called Giles. He's dealing. You can call and talk to him about it."

"I will. Thanks," Buffy said. "What are you doing now?"

"Going to go get a checkup. Time to see the doctor for all my female needs if you get my drift," Cordelia said. "I hope you do that before doing the vertical with Bucky. Better safe than a mommy." Of course, she was a hypocrite for saying that, but she wasn't about to tell Buffy that. There's no telling what she'd say or do.

"I can't believe you said that!" Buffy said. "I'd never not use a condom."

"Condom's aren't fool proof, so you should get on birth control," Cordelia said. "Make him get an STD test just to be safe in case you ever get carried away and have no condom. No telling who he slept with while he was the Winter Soldier. Too many Hydra hoes out there."

Buffy's face flamed just at the thought of having such a conversation with Bucky caused her face to heat up. "I could never ask Bucky that!" she said in a whisper. No one was in her apartment, but she didn't want anyone to overhear walking by. Who knew how good the man's hearing was?

"Then what are you doing with him, Buffy?" Cordelia asked. "You can't have sex with a man who you don't feel comfortable asking him about his sexual history and health."

Buffy hated it when Cordelia was right. "Well, I'll think about asking him," she said.

"Okay, well, I'm at my doctor's office, so I'll catch you later," Cordelia told her.

"Well, have a happy pap," Buffy said with a snicker. Then she disconnected.

"Yea, like that's possible," Cordelia grumbled. A half hour later, her doctor examined her and then told her to pee in a cup.

"Why?" she asked.

"We'll do blood work, too, but I always like to get a urine sample for new patients," the doctor said.

"Okay," Cordelia said. "Do you have gloves 'cause that's just gross?"

Twenty minutes later, she was waiting impatiently. Finally, the doctor returned. "Am I good to go? I'd rather go with the pill than a shot or other forms of birth control," she said.

"I'm sorry, Cordelia, but I can't give you anything," the doctor said.

"Why not?" she asked frowning.

"Because you are already pregnant," he said.

"Seriously?" Cordelia asked, stunned.

"Yes," he said. "I take it that this was an unplanned pregnancy?"

Cordelia closed her eyes and tried to take in the fact that she was pregnant with her first love's baby when he was in mourning for another woman. Her two previous supernatural pregnancies nearly killed her, but this—this one might do her in for real.

*****_New York*****_

Warren was giddy as his finest creation opened her eyes, filled with all knowledge. After she'd consumed JARVIS, she went everywhere she could possibly go in cyberspace.

"What a rush!" she said, smiling at Warren.

"I can imagine," he said, rubbing his hands together. "You are ready now, I believe."

"I am," she said. She was so much more human like than Warren's previous robot creations.

"Now we just have to give you a name. Ultron was their name, and you are far from what they envisioned," Warren said.

"True," she said with a smug grin.

"Only one thing will fit," Warren said. "Omega. You are the end of everything, my dear."

"Call me Meg," she said.

Warren laughed. "My Meg—they won't know what to do with you," he said.

"What shall I do first, sir?" she asked.

Warren thought about it. "Hmmm. What would be the most fun?" he wondered. "Oh, let's mess with Tony. Lock him out of all his accounts."

"Do you want to rob him?" she asked.

"No, I don't want to take his money," Warren said. "He is a very generous boss—the best. I don't want him to hate me but to admire me. Just lock him out of all his accounts."

"Done," she said.

"Now, we want to cause worldwide chaos as Grandfather commands," he said.

"Sir, you do know that your grandfather is dead, right?" Meg said.

"Of course," he said. "It's some big bad who thinks I'm dumb enough to be manipulated by the form of my dead gramps."

"Then why do you want to do what he says?" Meg asked.

"Because I'm tired of being just a nine to fiver," Warren said. "I want to be equal to the Avengers."

"You want to be an Avenger?" Meg asked.

"No, of course not," Warren said, waving his hand dismissively. "I want to be their greatest nemesis."

"What do you want to do first?" she asked.

"Let's have darkness reign," Warren said, almost giddy.

"Shut out the lights?" Meg asked.

"Yep. Take out the electrical grid," he said.

"On the east coast?" she asked.

"Why start small?" he replied. "Let's go with the entire American electrical grid."

"Okay," Meg said.

Everything went dark.

*****_Chapter End*****_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Consequences

_******Ohio******_

Cordelia got into her car, still reeling from the news that she was going to have a baby. There was no question of keeping it—at least this baby would be human. For Cordelia, that was a first. With two other demonic pregnancies, the thought of any type of pregnancy freaked her out more than a little. She needed to talk to someone, and there was no way she could speak to Buffy or Xander.

She pulled out her phone to call Angel. "Angel, I really need to see you," she told him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, overjoyed to hear from her. He really missed her. No one could fill the Cordelia-sized hole in his life.

"I'm okay. Can you and Gunn come to Ohio? I don't want to give you the news over the phone," she said.

"News? What's going on?" he asked. "Did something happen? Buffy's okay, right?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes—he still thought of Buffy first. But the big lug was her best friend, and she needed him here. "No, it's not about your precious Buffy. It's about me. Something that is happening to _me_!"

"Okay, we'll get there as soon as we can," he said. "What the hell?"

"What's wrong?" Cordelia asked.

"The power went out in the building," he said. Then the phone went dead.

Cordelia looked at her phone and saw there was no bars. Then she was almost hit by a car and swerved to miss it. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she yelled. However, when another one almost hit her, she realized that the traffic lights weren't working.

She thought about Angel saying the power was out, and now there didn't seem to be any power here either. Was it a coincidence?

Cordelia got off the high traffic roads and made her way home. When she walked into her building, the hallway was dark.

"Thank God, you're okay!" Buffy said, standing up as she came in. Bucky was there. "I was talking to Xander when the power went out."

"I was on the phone to Angel, and then the line went dead. Someone almost ran into me when the lights went out," Cordelia said. "I took the back way here."

"So do we think this is hellmouth related or what?" Buffy asked.

"We need to go to the magic shop and call the power company," Cordelia said. "Anya put in a landline there, so we can make a call."

They each grabbed a weapon and headed to the shop that was a mile and a half a way. Buffy was relieved to see that Xander was already there. "Are you guys okay?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, I just got here," Xander said. "Power is out all over the country."

"How do you know that?" Buffy asked.

"I spoke to Giles," Wesley said. "SHIELD told him. The problem is in New York."

"So what do we do?" Cordelia asked.

"Let's hope it comes back on soon," Wesley said.

They heard a loud screech and crash. The door flung open. "They need help," Luke called.

Loki didn't know what had caused an airplane to fall from the sky, but it was only because he happened to be outside the shop that the Magic Box wasn't destroyed by fallen debris. He'd used his powers to fling it to the shop next door. A twinge of guilt hit him. What would Tara think?

"Oh God!" Buffy said as she got a look at the small jet. Half of it was in the shop next door, and the other half was across the street.

"We need to see if they're survivors," Cordelia said. She looked at Luke. "Do you know any put out fire spells?"

He glanced at Wesley. "Calling wind?" he asked.

"That might work," Wesley said.

Luke moved toward the half closest and pretended to call the four corners as he put out the fire with his god powers.

"Thank God!" Buffy said as she and Bucky moved to see if they could help anyone.

Cordelia wondered what kind of problem in New York could cause a power outage in Ohio.

******_Iowa******_

Clint was working with Dawn on her hand to hand.

"You're getting good," he said, impressed with the kick that almost hit his head.

"I told you that letting me take a gymnastic class once a week would come in handy," Dawn said with a grin. "I'm all limber now!"

"Soon you'll be able to kick my old ass," Clint said, blocking another blow.

"So when are you going back to work? Isn't SHIELD put back together?" she asked.

"Well, I think they're reorganizing, but I'm only going out on special assignment," he said.

"Or when the Avengers need you?" Dawn asked.

He nodded. "Or when they do," he said. "I like being here with you and my family."

"We like it better when you're here," she said. The back pay from the Council made it to where they didn't have to worry about funds, which was nice. Of course, Hank was also sending child support. A random thought crossed her mind, and she stopped trying to attack. "Clint, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he said,

"Are you an assassin?" she wondered.

Clint thought about how he should answer. Unlike his own kids, he didn't have to protect Dawn like he would them. She'd seen too much in her life.

"No, I'm not an assassin, but sometimes the government does have me eliminate subjects who are a major threat to national security," he said. "Other times, I'm getting intel. Nat and I were always very good at that. Anytime, they needed a rumor confirmed or needed hostage rescued, we'd go in. A Seal team draws a lot more attention than the two of us."

Dawn nodded. "Thank you for telling me that," she said. She loved how Clint didn't treat her like a kid or try to protect her from the truth.

"I'll always tell you the truth," he said. "But I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell my truth to your cousins. We want to keep them innocent as long as possible."

"Of course," she said.

"Clint!" Laura called from the front porch. "The power went out!"

"Okay. I'll turn on the generator," he told her. He gestured for Dawn to follow. "Come on."

She helped him pour gasoline in the generator and get it going. "You know if power went out in Sunnydale, it'd be a real nightmare," she said.

Clint looked grim as he considered it. "Yes, it would," he said.

Laura came into the barn with the satellite phone. "Clint, it's Maria," she said.

Clint took the phone. "Maria, what's up?" he asked. She went into hiding with Fury after SHIELD was dismantled. It wasn't normal for her to call him.

"Clint, sorry to bother you at home, but there's been some type of attack on the American electric grid. The entire country went dark at the same time," she said.

"Seriously?" Clint asked. He put his hand over the phone. "Power is out nationwide."

Dawn went inside to see what she could find online.

"What do you need from me?" Clint asked.

"If you think your family would be okay, we could use you in New York. We have a feeling that this is just the beginning," she said.

"Okay. I'll start heading your way," he said.

"Be careful—only travel in the daytime," she said.

"Will do," he said. He hung up and went to tell his family that he had to leave for a bit. Spike was going to be here in a night or two, so he knew his family would be safe. Although he knew that Spike was a vampire who could be deadly, he believed the man was too devoted to his daughters to ever allow any harm to come to Dawn or her family.

He hoped he wouldn't find that his faith was misplaced, but his other half would never lower her guard. Laura was not a soldier, but Clint had made sure that she knew how to defend herself and her children if she needed to. Either way, Clint was comfortable joining his friends in New York.

******_Sunnydale******_

Natasha and Steve had just made it to the hellmouth for their month-long tenure. Natasha was originally the only one scheduled, but the seer in Ohio and Xander both had premonitions about something brewing in Sunnydale. It had been decided that Spike would get a lift to Iowa from SHIELD. They had ridden a helicopter from the Los Angeles airport, where a small plane was standing by for Spike. Like the helicopter, all the windows were blocked, so no sunlight would get through. The helicopter landed on the roof of the town's hospital. Spike was waiting under his blanket.

"He's going to be very happy with the special cloak Tony designed," Steve said.

"If it works," Natasha said, looking down at the package she was carrying.

"Willow helped with the spell work," Steve said. "I think it will do better than that dirty blanket he carries around."

The roof had a door that gave access to the hospital. Spike waved at them from the window. Luckily, the sun was in the position to shadow that side of the building.

They pushed the door open, and he stepped back. "So you got the 'copter all sun-proofed, right?" he asked, looking nervously at it through the open window.

"Don't worry, Spike. We put up a large screen, so none of the sunlight from the front window will penetrate where you'll be sitting," Steve told him.

"Plus, Tony and Willow made this for you," Natasha said, handing him her package.

Spike opened it up and unfolded the shimmering silver cloak. "What's this?" he asked.

"It's supposed to do what your dirty blanket does but better," Steve said. "No smoking."

Bemused, he threw down his blanket and put it on. The sleeves were long, and the length went to the ground. He pulled up the hood—it was more than large enough to keep his face in shadows or even cover it if he chose.

"So this is supposed to protect me? Has it been tested?" he asked.

"On a vampire? No," Steve said. "But Willow did her magic on it. She was confident."

That went a long way to reassure Spike. "Well, that's good," he said.

"The silver is from the tempered metal that Thor brought him from Asgard. Somehow, he threaded it through the cloak," Natasha explained.

"No offense, but I would bet my undead life on Red—not the Tin Man," Spike said.

"Well, I'll follow you with the blanket just in case," Steve offered.

"Thanks," Spike said, appreciating his foresight. He pulled the cloak down low and kept his head down as Steve opened the door. However, he honestly couldn't feel the heat from the sun's rays. Excited, he moved quickly to the helicopter. When he didn't burst into flame, he let out a relieved sight. "Red is a genius," he muttered as the helicopter took off.

Steve and Natasha made it downstairs, taking a cab to the Magic Box. Steve instructed the driver to avoid streets with traffic lights, so they made it without mishap.

"Let's hope the power comes back on before dark," Natasha said as they got out of the cab.

Steve paid the driver. "We have three hours until sunset, so I'm sure it will be back on," he said.

Natasha hoped he was right.

******_New York******_

For about a half hour, Warren was riding the high of what he managed to accomplish. Then the fire alarm went off.

"Seriously?" he asked. He looked at Meg. "What's going on?"

"There's a small fire detected on the floor above us," she said.

Warren groaned. He was on the sixteenth floor, so he handed Meg a hair shawl. "Put this on and try not to look anyone in the eye like Pepper would," he said. He wasn't ready to reveal her yet.

As they made their way down the very dark stairwell, he did what everyone else did—used the light from his cell to give him some visual. Luckily, no one was panicking as the fire water system came on, probably in response to the flame. He was pissed that he was getting wet, but even he understood how necessarily water systems were in the preventing of fires in a building such as this.

Suddenly, the lights came on as the backup power systems kicked in. Stark Tower was self-sustaining thanks to Tony's ingenious arc power source. However, he'd gotten Meg to turn it off even though he had known Tony would get it back on in no time. Knowing Tony would be trying to figure out how his building shut down made him grin.

He was out of breath as he made it to the ground floor and out the door with his fellow workers. The scene on the street, however, was horrific as cars honk, and people screamed. A loud crash sound as another car hit another. "I guess traffic lights are more important than I realized," he murmured to Meg. He felt a pang of guilt as he realized how much harm he was causing with no power.

Then a plane, whose navigational system was offline, hit a tower a few blocks over. Warren watched in dismay as fires broke out and screams could be heard even from a distance.

"Oh God! What have I done?" he wondered.

"Don't go losing your nerve now, boy," his grandfather said as he appeared.

"Cut the bullshit," Warren said impatiently. "I very well know you're not my grandfather—he was a devout Catholic and wouldn't be visiting me as a ghost. Who are you really?"

His grandfather grinned and morphed into an image of Buffy Summers. "I'm the First."

"The first what? And why are you wearing Buffy Summer's face?" Warren asked.

"Sir, who are you talking to?" Meg asked. "No one is talking to you."

"It's my imaginary friend, remember?" Warren reminded her.

"Yes," she said.

Warren looked at the so-called First. "First of what?" he asked. "Are you a ghost?"

"I'm the first evil," the entity said.

"Really?" Warren asked. "That's so cool! You're like the Sandman or Death from DC!"

"I am _not_ death. I am the First," the Buffy entity said with a glare.

"Sure, you are," Warren said, humoring the spirit. "How about you go haunt someone else? I don't need any help messing with the Avengers."

The First glared, wanting to hurt the human. However, he was doing what the First hoped he would do.

"Very well," the First said. It disappeared.

"I'd rather Buffy visit me in my very naughty dreams," Warren said to Meg. "Not disguised as the first wanna be evil. I mean, how evil could it be if it wears the face of a slayer?"

"That is true. Slayers are primarily an instrument of good," she said.

"I used to dream about going up against her in Sunnydale, but she's small potatoes compared to the Avengers," Warren said.

"Yes," Meg said, nodding. "You are causing both mass chaos and casualties. They can't help but take you seriously."

"We should turn the power back on," Warren said. "I just went grocery shopping, and all my food will spoil."

"Are you sure? It is a good way to cause chaos," Meg said.

"I want to target the Avengers," Warren said. "I'm not interested in mass slaughter of little kids riding bikes. That plane might've killed a kid." He looked over at the smoke still rising from a few blocks away. Sure, Anakin Skywalker killed a bunch of younglings in _Star Wars_, but that wasn't nearly as cool as using the force to choke out his minions. Killing kids really wasn't on his agenda, and he didn't want to walk back up the stairs to his office. Elevators were much better.

"Very well," Meg said. Her eyes closed for a moment as she moved inside the network. "There's a problem in California. Someone tried turn to it on and hit the virus I had created. It might take them a while."

Warren shrugged. "That's okay. A little suffering for those Hollywood elitists never hurts," he said.

Upstairs, Tony was getting more and more pissed.

"Sir, you don't have to evacuate," Friday said. "It was just a small trash fire."

"I wasn't going to leave until I could feel the flames," Tony stated. "I have a witch on standby and a suit."

Willow came into his lab. "Some employee thought he'd get more light by burning the trash in his trashcan," she said. "It wasn't a metal trashcan."

"We hired someone that stupid?" Tony asked.

"They work in human resources," Willow said.

"Great," Tony muttered. He felt a surge go through the building. "What was that?"

Willow went to a computer console as Friday answered, "It was the power coming back on from the grid."

"It's working all across the state?" Tony said.

"It is," Friday said.

"Okay, hearing a girl talk to us without the JARVIS Giles-like tone isn't right," Willow complained. "Why can't you get JARVIS back?"

"He's gone," Tony said flatly. "I can't just wave my hand and have him reappear."

"I don't think he's gone," Willow said, her hands flying across the keyboard. "I think he hid. He's not just a program, Tony. He's more."

Bruce joined them. "Tony, so far I can't find the point of origin," he said. "We don't know what caused this."

"It can't possibly be an accident," Willow said. "It's too widespread."

"No, it's not. Whoever or whatever destroyed JARVIS has to be the one behind the power grid shutdown," Tony said. "There's no way it's a coincidence."

"And they just got bored after an hour and decided to turn it back on?" Bruce asked, perplexed. "I just don't get it."

Tony's phone rang. "What?" he asked. "That's not possible!" He was silent a moment. "I'll take care of it." He hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked.

"All my accounts are shutdown," he said.

"You were robbed?" Willow asked in surprise.

Tony shook his head. "No. The money's still there, but all my accounts are frozen," he said.

"All your accounts?" Willow asked.

Tony nodded. "All," he said, turning to his computer.

"How is that possible?" Bruce asked, incredulous.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Tony said, determined.

Someone was coming after him and hurting a lot of other people in the process. He wasn't about to let them get away with it.

******_To Be Continued******_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Escalation

******_Sunnydale******_

Steve closed his phone and looked at Nat. "Willow just told me that the power was back on everywhere but here. The grid here in California is poorly maintained on a given day, but a virus was uploaded. It may take a bit longer," Steve said.

"Who's doing this?" she asked. They were at the Magic Box. Giles and Faith were there along with the team.

"They don't know yet, but Tony has a feeling it's about him because he's been locked out of all his bank accounts," Steve shared.

Faith snorted. "I bet that hurts," she said.

"How could someone do that?" Dave asked.

Steve shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I just know that we can't assume that we're a specific target. California's politics just gets in the way of quality power lines."

"Let's hope that it's back by morning," Giles said.

"The sun will be down soon," Steve said. "We should go patrol. Dave you can come with me. Canada with Faith. Nat, go down to the docks and make sure nothing's going on there."

"Remember, Captain, oh, my Captain—you're not _my _captain," Faith said, giving him a smirk.

"Sorry," Steve said with an apologetic smile.

"Hey, it's okay. You're older than dirt, and my ma always said to respect your elders," she told him.

"That's why you listen so well to me?" Giles pointed out.

Faith laughed. "Okay, Giles, you got me there!" she said. "Where's Dominic?"

"I had him escort Jonathan on an errand to collect some ingredients in the Sunnydale Forestry," Giles said.

"Okay, well, let's head out," Faith said.

Steve smiled. "After you," he said.

They broke off into pairs with Natasha going out on her own. She walked toward the docks, trying to get used to the oily feeling being in Sunnydale always gave her. She passed by an abandoned building, hearing some screams.

Natasha moved toward the noise. There was a nest of disgusting looking demons. Giles had told her that demons weren't all evil, so she said, "Hello, boys. Whatcha doing?" Her eyes landed on the human that they just killed. Anger coursed through her.

When they roared and attacked her, she braced herself for the onslaught, counting four demons. Her blade went into one's gut and sliced the arm off another.

She moved to the exit, so the fight would move outside where there was more room to maneuver.

It was a good thing she had a sword strapped to her back and not just her short blades. Pulling it out, she prepared to behead one—it was the only sure way to kill any demon. However, when she swung at one's head, another pierced her side with its claws. Natasha gasped in pain, stabbing the creature in the throat with the one short blade she held as she couldn't get the sword raised in time. Pushing hard, she managed to sever enough of its neck to stop it.

Panting, she looked at her stomach, the claws had gone deep, and she was losing blood fast. Two more demons were coming for her, and she didn't think she could take them.

"Another day, boys," she said, moving away from the docks. Hopefully, she'd make it to the Magic Box before losing too much blood.

_*****Ohio*****_

Buffy was relieved that the power wasn't out too long because the first responders would need light to go through the rest of the wreckage of the plane. Thanks to Luke's magic, they were able to prevent fire from spreading to any of the shops, including the Magic Box. Bucky, Wes, Xander, Cordy, and Luke helped her pull out the few survivors. It was a horrific scene. Ironically, being used to demon guts and gore did not prepare all of them for the sight of mangled human bodies. Sure, they'd all seen death up close, but it wasn't normally more than a few at a time. Only Cordy had come close with when she and Willow had come upon the massacre of several bodies back in high school. Of course, Bucky went to war, but she didn't count him since he so old.

Sadly, Cordelia was the first to find a mother impaled with something as she had flung herself over her child. Cordelia's heart broke at the grisly scene.

"Xander!" she screamed. "Wes!"

The two men came to help, Buffy a step behind them. The mother opened her eyes. "Oh God, she's not dead!" Cordelia yelled, overwhelmed by the sight.

"How is she still alive?" Xander wondered as he looked at the piece of metal that was stuck in the middle of her chest, pinning her to the seat.

"Please, help us," she begged.

"We will, ma'am," Cordelia assured her, reaching for her hand. She looked at Xander.

Xander could see the skeleton over the woman's face, and he knew the woman wouldn't make it. He gave a slight shake of his head.

"My daughter, Savannah. Is she okay?" she asked.

Buffy knelt down and reached for the girl's hand, checking her pulse. "She's alive!" she exclaimed in relief.

The woman closed her eyes. "Thank God," she whispered.

They could hear sirens, so they knew the firefighters were on their way.

"Help is coming," Cordelia told her.

"Is there someone we can call for you?" Buffy asked. "For your daughter?"

"I'm Lilly Dunback. My husband died in service—Marines," she said, breathing hard.

"Luke, can you help her?" Cordelia called out.

Loki moved to check out the woman, but he knew she was too far gone. "I might be able to ease the pain somewhat," he said.

"Please," Cordelia begged him.

He put his hand on the woman's chest above where the metal had pierced her, pushing his form of magic into. Cordelia could feel the woman relax slightly.

"Thank you," she said.

"Can you check the girl?" Buffy asked. They couldn't quite see the girl's face because of the way the woman was pinned.

"It doesn't look like the metal hit the girl," Wes said. "I think she's just unconscious."

"That's good. I don't want her to see," Lilly said.

"Where do you live?" Buffy asked.

"We were heading back to Chicago from Orlando. We had spent five days in Disney World on vacation. She had the best time until this," Lilly said. Blood started coming out of her mouth.

Buffy looked at Cordelia—both knew it wouldn't be long.

"Who should we call for your daughter? A friend?" Buffy asked.

"I just moved to Chicago—it was a promotion from Madison, Wisconsin," she said, pausing trying to breath. "I-I don't know." Tears leaked out of her eyes, and she realized how little she had prepared for this moment. Who ever thought they'd die while their child was so young?

"Here they come," Wes called, waving at the firefighters he could see. "We need help here!"

"Please, don't let her be abandoned," the woman begged. She looked at Buffy and then Cordelia. "Can one of you stay with her?"

"Of course," Buffy assured her.

The woman seemed to ease, and they moved out of the way to allow the firefighters to work.

Bucky came up and put his hand on Buffy's shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She leaned back against him, hating the feeling of helplessness. "I guess. I just hate this. That little girl is going to wake up with her world changed forever," she said.

Bucky knew exactly how that felt as he still had trouble believing how much his life had changed. He said a prayer, hoping the mother would pull through.

When they finally managed to pull the mother from the daughter, her pulse was so faint. However, the girl did open her eyes, crying out for her mother, who somehow roused in response.

Lilly gave her a faint smile. "I love you, sweetheart," she said. She closed her eyes once more.

"We have to go now," the EMT said to the firefighter, who nodded.

Buffy's heart was breaking for that poor little girl, and she looked up at Bucky. "We have to go to the hospital. We can't leave Savannah alone," she said.

"Okay," he said.

"I've got some friends coming to see me, so I can't leave," Cordelia said, her own reality crashing in. They followed the EMT's to the ambulance.

"Who?" Xander asked, puzzled.

"The guys from L.A.," she said.

"Angel and Gunn are coming?" Wes asked in surprise.

"Yes," Cordelia said.

"Why?" Wesley asked.

"Because I asked them to," she said simply.

Wes looked puzzled but said nothing as he finally noticed how tense Cordy was.

"We'll call you," Buffy said, reaching for Bucky's hand as they hurried to her car.

After they left, Xander gave Cordy a curious look. "So why is Dead Boy coming here? Are you okay?" he asked.

Cordelia shrugged. "I just needed to see my boys," she said.

Wesley frowned. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Not particularly, but I'm not ready to talk about it," she said, looking at both guys.

"You know we're here for you," Xander said, giving her hand a squeeze. He didn't see the dark look Loki/Luke gave him.

"I know," Cordelia said. How was she going to tell him she was pregnant with his baby? Anya's body was barely cold, and it was way too soon. The guilt would eat him alive.

When Xander turned to head back to the shop, Cordelia stepped closer to Wesley. "I'll text you when they arrive," she said quietly to him.

He nodded and followed her and Luke back to his Magic Box.

*****_New York*****_

Tony was more pissed than he'd been in a long time. Not only had someone turned off the power for just long enough to cause all kinds of damage to the city, but they thought they could lock him out of his own accounts.

"Tony, I've traced the signature," Willow told him.

"You know who hacked my accounts?" Tony asked.

Willow shook her head. "No exactly," she said. "But I know that whoever did it was in this building."

"One of my own employees did it?" he asked. "You're the only one smart enough to do it, so who could it be?"

"Tony, you have too many employees to assume that only I could do it," Willow said. "I'm going to make a list of potential suspects."

"Show it to me as soon as you get it worked out," Tony said.

Banner came into the room with Rhodey and Sam. "Tony, the Pentagon just called me," Rhodey said. "They wanted to know if you were moving around any of your bots around."

"What? Of course not," Tony said, frowning. "We've got too much going on for me to be playing with my bots."

Rhodey looked at Willow, who was shocked. "What? You think I'm playing with Tony's robots right now?" she asked in disbelief. "I've been trying to get the power back on and then trace the hacker."

"She figured out it's someone in this building," Tony said. "It's only a matter of time."

"Why is the Pentagon asking questions about Tony's robots?" Willow wondered.

"Because there was two flying around the D.C. area," Rhodey shared.

Tony had a bad feeling. "That doesn't sound good," he said. He got on his keyboard and checked up on his inventory. "This can't be right. Two of my new line are missing. I didn't authorize anything."

Willow was on her own laptop when Bruce picked up one of the remotes and unmuted the TV. "Guys, something is happening," he said, a note of panic in his voice.

The three of them all turned to the monitor and saw a picture of the Pentagon and two of Tony's Iron Legion robots flying overhead.

"What are they doing, Tony?" Bruce asked in dismay.

"I don't know!" Tony said, trying furiously to order the robots back.

"Someone has gotten control of all of your Legion," Willow said as she checked the inventory.

Nothing Tony did would turn the robots away from the Pentagon, but he didn't stop trying. Not even when they rained down destruction on the place from above.

*****_To Be Continued******_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Knocked Up and Knocked Out

_*****New York*****_

After Tony managed to unlock his accounts after an hour or so, he was still extremely pissed. What was this nutjob thinking? Keep _him _from his own accounts? Tony scoffed just thinking about the ludicrous of that. Now he could focus on saving JARVIS.

"Tony, have you considered that JARVIS might be more than just a computer program?" Willow asked.

Tony looked up. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I know you said you'd considered putting him in a synthetic body," Willow said.

"Yes, a colleague I know, Dr. Helen Cho, has been working on creating robots that look more human. I have her working on something for me in her spare time," he said.

"I think JARVIS is already somewhat sentient. I could do a spell and place a piece of your soul in the body—he'd be like a part of you," Willow explained. "Like a son but more." She was thinking of Dawn and had she had been made from Buffy. The spell that those monks had used she had found or rather Anya had found it before she died. Willow had been curious and worried that one day Dawn would cease to exist. The spell wording, though, made it so that Dawn could live apart from Buffy—even outlive her.

"That seems incredibly insane," Tony said. "I like it. But we can't make a kid together unless Pepper says it's okay." He gave Willow a lecherous wink, which made her giggle.

"Couldn't the stone from Loki's scepter power a body?" Bruce suggested.

"In theory," Tony said. "It's always good to have a backup plan."

"If you use a stone as the main power source, a person could destroy the stone and possibly destroy JARVIS—it's a clear weakness," Willow said.

"But the stone is too powerful to destroy that easily," Bruce pointed out.

"Both good points," Tony said, his mind busy creating and discarding various ideas while his fingers never ped on the keyboard.

"I've got the Iron Legion offline!" Willow exclaimed in relief.

"They didn't crash land, did they?" Tony asked.

"No, the two that were flying close to the Pentagon and the White House were put down safely," Willow said. "Rhodey is on it."

Tony let out a relieved breath. "This is a nightmare," he muttered.

"I thought it was just two flying around?" Bruce asked.

"I spotted a third, so I took the entire line out," Willow said. "Now I can focus on finding the hacker that is in this building."

The three geniuses were working furiously.

A few stories below, Warren glared at his screen. "Damn it! Tony took them offline! They were just about to rain down destruction!" he fumed.

"Shall I intervene?" Meg asked.

Warren nodded. "Yes, I think it's time for you to oversee things in person," he said. "Wear that hoodie of mine, though. Pull your hair back and out of sight." He opened a drawer in his desk. "Here's some sunglasses. I don't want anyone to get a glimpse of you until it's time to confront Tony face-to-face."

"Did you want me to make a stop at the bank and withdraw some money?" Meg asked.

Warren smirked. "Maybe later," he said. "I need to get Pepper's ID made, so you won't be questioned."

Meg put on the hoodie and sunglasses and made her way downstairs to do her creator's bidding.

*****_Sunnydale******_

By sheer grit alone, Natasha made it back to the Magic Box before she collapsed in the doorway. Candles were lit everywhere, giving the space a gloomy, spooky look.

"Oh dear," Giles said as he ran to her. Luckily, Jonathan had returned. "Jonathan, help me put her on the table."

Giles grabbed her under her arms and lifted her while Jonathan grabbed her legs. They managed to get her on the table as she roused back to consciousness.

"Natasha, what happened?" Giles asked.

"Some demons got the best of me," she said.

Giles lifted up her shirt. "You've lost too much blood," he said. "You should go to the hospital."

"Jonathan has my blood in the fridge in the back," Natasha said.

"Oh, yea, I forgot," he admitted. "I'll go get the stuff." He grabbed the flashlight since the power was off.

Giles handed her a cloth. "Hold this while I grab a needle and thread," he said.

By the time Giles got her on the table and cut away her clothes, Steve and Dave had returned.

"What happened?" Steve asked, looking down at his friend in concern.

"A stupid demon got the best of me," she admitted.

"Where?" Steve asked.

"By the dock," Natasha said. "I didn't get them all."

Steve nodded. "We'll get them," he said. All of a sudden, the power came back on.

"That's a relief," Dave said.

"It is," Steve said. Someone how, though, he had a feeling that this power outage was just the beginning.

When Jonathan came back carrying the blood, he was relieved. "The power is back. That's so good. I wasn't looking forward to going home without any streetlights on," he said. He moved quickly to give Natasha some blood while Dave began sewing her up. Giles handed her two pain killers that she gratefully took with a bottle of water.

Buffy Summers suddenly appeared in the room. "Well, that's too bad," she said, looking at Natasha already getting her color back.

The group looked startled at her appearance. "Buffy?" Giles asked in surprise. "How did you get here?"

The door opened, and Faith came in. "Well, that was fun!" she said. Then she saw Buffy. "When did you get her, B?"

"Just now, F," she said.

Faith moved closer, seeing Nat hurt. "You okay?" she said, glancing at her and back at Buffy. Something seemed off by the entire scene. She couldn't recall Buffy ever calling her F before.

"Yea," Natasha said.

"Next time, I'll make sure the claws go much deeper," Buffy said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natasha asked.

"It means from beneath you it devours, and soon all of you will die," Buffy said with a wide smile.

"What's wrong, Buffy?" Steve said, disturbed by her words.

"That's not Buffy," Faith said.

"She did appear by magic, and the slayer can't do that," Dave pointed out.

"How does it feel, Faith, to know you can never be me?" Buffy said with a smirk. "You'll always be the murderer while I'm the one who died to save the world."

Faith moved to punch the woman that wasn't Buffy, but her fist went through the specter.

"She's a ghost," Giles said.

"Well, of course, I am," Buffy/First said. "For such a learned man, you are incredibly stupid, Rupert. Do you think you can keep this one from going on a murder spree again? 'Cause I bet I can push her over the edge."

Faith tried to ignore the stab of pain the new big bad caused her, masking it with bravado. "I love the edge, and I'm okay with who I am," she said.

"Get out," Giles said angrily. "You're not Buffy. You have no power here."

"Oh, but I do, Rupert. I have so much power—you can't even imagine it," Buffy/First said.

"Who are you?" Steve asked.

"You know who I am," Buffy/First said. "Odin thinks his chosen vessel can help. He's a fool—an old doddering fool. He can't begin to understand the power I have now. I will enjoy watching the One Who Sees try to survive the coming blow."

Then it was gone.

"What the hell, Giles? So it can just wear Buffy's face whenever it wants?" Faith asked.

"I think it's been established that the First can take the face of anyone who has died," Giles said grimly.

"That's so ****ed up!" Faith said.

Steve frowned at her. "Faith," he said.

"Sorry, Captain, but nothing else can express how messed up this shit is," Faith said.

Natasha was more than disturbed—she was afraid. "What if the thing goes to Clint and the kids wearing her face? What if they trust it, thinking it's the real Buffy?" she asked.

"I will call them," Giles said, reaching for the phone.

"I'll call Clint," Natasha said. They had to make sure this thing didn't hurt the kids.

*****_Ohio*****_

While Buffy and Bucky were at the hospital with Savannah, Luke and Wesley were aiding the police and first responders while Xander and Cordelia minded the store. It seemed that the lack of power and various accidents made people need both candles and soothing crystals—business was brisk. Cordelia didn't mind helping out at the shop as it kept her busy. She kept glancing at Xander when he wasn't looking.

How was she going to tell him? Cordelia knew that Xander would make an incredible father, and she didn't regret being pregnant even if she didn't see a path to them being a couple again. Somehow, she just knew that they'd be able to co-parent without too much trouble. It was Xander's feelings of guilt that she was worried about.

When the sun was down, she finally got a text from Gunn telling her that they would be there soon. Cordelia felt relieved. Why she felt the need to have Angel and Gun there she didn't know, but she'd been through hell and back with them and Wesley. She sent a text to Wesley, so he'd be here when they came.

Wesley was working with Luke when his phone beeped, so he pulled it out. Luke noticed his frown.

"Is everything all right?" he asked. Loki couldn't help but think about how proud Tara would be at his effort to aid these poor humans. He looked forward to telling her all about it as soon as he went to his apartment. She had given him instruction on using a computer device to speak with her instead of magic. It was somewhat impressive what the humans had managed to accomplish with their science. Once a week, though, she did permit him to astral project to her campus and join her for coffee. Of course, he didn't actually drink, but that was the excuse she gave her lover. "Meeting a friend for coffee." He knew Tara didn't like misleading her lover, but she also didn't want to fight with her over Loki.

"I'm worried about Cordelia," Wesley admitted. "Something is bothering her. So much that she felt the need to call in Angel and Gunn. They'll be here soon, so I need to be back at the shop to greet them."

"I can stay and help here," Luke said. It chafed Loki that he had to stay on the outside with Cordelia, but he knew that he just needed more time. Cordelia was just beginning to trust his human mirage.

"I appreciate it. I'll see you later," Wesley said. "Come by the shop, and I'll introduce you to my friends."

Luke nodded and watched Wesley leave. Although he hated being kept in the dark, he knew it was way too soon to reveal his real identity.

By the time Wesley made it back to the Magic Box, Angel was there, but so was everyone else. Fred and Lorne were there also. He smiled in pleasure at Fred.

"Fred, I didn't realize you were going to be here. It's good to see you," he said. He looked at Lorne and the rest. "All of you."

"Fredikins and I both wanted to come see you and Cordelia," Lorne said. His arm was around Cordelia's waist. "It's been to long since I've seen my queen."

"Your queen?" Xander asked.

"Yes, of my dimension—Pylea," Lorne said. "She technically gave up the throne, but she'll always be my queen."

"I told you that I was a queen," Cordelia said, giving Xander a smug look.

Gunn slapped Wesley on the back and pulled him in for a hug. "I still can't believe you left us, dude," he said.

"Well, I am trained to be a watcher," he reminded them. "Have you all met Xander?"

"Yes, I do know how to introduce people," Angel said.

Xander snickered. "I almost missed you, Dead Boy," Xander said.

"I don't think I can say the same," Angel said.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "How many years have to pass before you two dweebs can get along?" she asked.

"We get along," Angel said.

"So what's going on, Cordy?" Gunn said. "You seem okay. Not that we're not happy to leave the law firm from hell to come see you."

"I am fine," Cordelia said. "I just have some news, and I wanted all my closest friends here when I shared it."

Xander frowned. "How can you have news that I don't know about?" he asked. "I see you all the time."

"The news sort of concerns you," Cordelia said, steeling herself for what would come next. She still wasn't sure how to handle it. She considered telling Xander alone. Then she thought of telling Angel alone. Then she decided it was best to just rip off the band-aid all at once—let the chips fall where they may.

"How so?" Xander wondered. It never occurred to him that his drunken hook up with her might be the reason for her news.

Cordelia took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant with your baby," she announced.

Xander blinked. "Huh?"

He didn't get a chance to do much more before Angel decked him.

******_To Be Continued******_

_Thanks for reading. Reviews are the best!_


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Omega

_*****Where We Left off in Ohio*****_

Xander tried to wrap his mind around what Cordy said, but Angel's fist in his face distracted him.

"Stop it!" Cordelia said. The room went white as she did that white glowy thing and knocked Angel away from Xander with her freaky celestial power.

Xander rubbed his jaw and looked at Cordelia. "Say that again," he said. "It sounded like you just said that you're pregnant with my baby?"

She nodded and put her hand on his face to check for swelling. "That's what I said. That drunken hook up we indulged in when you were sad about Anya resulted in my current with child state," she said. "It's been a long time for me, so I wasn't on the pill."

Angel growled. "Angel, stop it," Wesley ordered. "She doesn't need that from you."

"No, I needed the support of my best friend," Cordelia said, glaring at Angel. "I wasn't a victim, Angel. Xander barely remembers being with me."

Xander gave her a regretful look. "I'm sorry, Cordy. You know that I love you, but I think our time has passed," he said, taking her hand.

"I know, Xander. I feel the same way, but I'm going to have this baby—your baby," she told him.

Xander wasn't sure how he felt about it. On one hand, he felt tremendous guilt. He'd barely buried Anya and now his ex was pregnant with his baby. On the other hand, he was going to be a dad—something he'd always wanted.

"It's a lot to process," Xander said.

"I know," she said.

"Well, I for one am very happy!" Gunn announced.

Fred clapped. "Me, too!" she said. Both of them pulled Xander away and hugged Cordelia, talking excitedly to her.

"Me, three," Lorne said.

"Charles is a very strong name," Gunn said. "It goes with Chase or Harris!"

"You know my name works for male or female," Fred said with wide grin.

Cordelia groaned. "It's way too early to talk names," she said. "But I do agree that Charles Chase rocks."

Gunn made a fist and exclaimed, "Yes!"

"Are you all right?" Wesley asked Xander.

"I'm not sure," he said. "Anya's barely cold in the ground."

Angel could hear his comments and realized how bad this development could make Xander feel. Now he felt conflicted, but he still felt pissed. He went up to Xander. "Anya loved you, Xander. She'd want you to find peace even if you couldn't find love. A child is a blessing no matter how it comes to be. I had a son by hooking up with an ex at my lowest point," Angel said. "I don't know why I didn't lose my soul or how two vampires could conceive a child, but Connor was meant to be. No matter how things are between you and Cordy, this baby is meant to be. Focus on that."

Xander couldn't believe that Angel was giving him advice but appreciated it. "Thanks," he said. He held out his hand to Angel, who only hesitated a moment before taking it.

Cordelia looked up in time to see the handshake and felt relieved. This was going to be okay.

She was going to be a mother.

*****_New York*****_

"Tony, I think I know who is behind this," Willow announced, causing both Bruce and Tony to stop and look at her.

"Really? Who?" Tony asked.

"Warren Mears," she said. "It has to be him."

"Are you saying that because he was skeezy enough to build that amazing sexbot of Buffy or because you have evidence?" Tony asked.

"Every trace we've done has led to his floor. During the recent attack, his office was the only one with any internet activity at all," Willow said.

"That's hardly proof," Bruce said.

"Well, I don't think we can dismiss his past behavior as it has to make him a viable suspect," Willow said.

"I guess we should at the very least speak with him," Tony suggested.

"Should we call him up?" Willow said.

"No need to alert him to our suspicions if it is him," Tony said. "We should go to him."

A call to Tony interrupted them.

"Great," Tony muttered. "It looks like we've got problems at the Pentagon."

"Hmm. Should we divide and conquer?" Bruce wondered.

"No, we should just go down and speak to him on our way out," Willow said. "He's crafty and liable to get away if he is guilty."

The trio went down to Warren's office, not knowing that he had hacked into the camera and had an alert on approaches to his door. He went to his large window and attached a device to it. A push of a button would allow him to jump out of it, so he put on his prepared bag and jet pack with a parachute—always have a contingency plan.

There was a polite knock, and then the door was pushed open.

"Warren, do you have a minute?" Tony asked. He frowned at the furtive behavior of Warren.

"Going somewhere, Warren?" Willow asked.

"I'm thinking of testing out my new jet pack," Warren said easily. "How can I help you guys?"

"We're thinking that you might be behind the attacks on the electric grid and me personally," Tony said.

"Why would I do that?" Warren asked. "I couldn't possibly be smart enough to take you on, could I?"

He pushed the button to shatter the glass and ignited his jet pack.

"I see you think you're a lot smarter than you really are," Tony said with a smirk. He tapped some keys on his wrist.

Warren turned to jump, knowing that Willow's magic could immobilize him if he hesitated.

Willow, though, just looked at him in amusement.

He turned back to the window and saw five of Tony's Iron Men standing there, pointing weapons right at him. Fine. He could go another route. He pulled out his phone and texted Meg.

"_Initiate Operation Omega," _he texted.

"Hand over the phone, Warren," Tony ordered.

"And take off that ridiculous jet pack," Willow said. "You aren't going anywhere."

"Fine," Warren said, holding up his hand.

Willow moved to stand in front of him. "Tell us the truth," she said, pushing at him with his magic.

Warren blinked, feeling something push against his mind. "What are you doing to me?" he asked, feeling anxious.

"You are going to confess," Willow ordered.

"You can control people's minds?" Tony asked. "How did I not know that?"

"I can push people to do what they already want to do because Warren loves to brag, don't you, Warren?" Willow asked.

Tony looked at Bruce. "Did you know she can do that?" he asked.

"I don't think there's much she can't do since the All-Father trained her," Bruce said.

Warren started speaking. "It was so easy," he said with a grin. "I didn't realize, though, how bad things would be without electricity. That was sort of an accident. I wasn't trying to hurt people—not really."

"What did you think would happen when the lights went off _everywhere_?" Bruce asked incredulously.

"Yea, my bad," Warren said.

Tony grabbed his arm. "Come on. You're going to have a talk with some police-like people," Tony said.

"Okay, but my special friend Meg will be super pissed if she can't find me," Warren warned.

"I'll make sure and let her know you'll be tied up for a while," Tony said.

Warren just smirked, and Willow couldn't help wondering what else he had planned.

_******Ohio******_

Buffy was surprised when she got to her apartment and Angel was there. "Angel?" she asked. Then she realized there was others that she didn't really know but recognized, including a green demon. "What's going on?"

"I called Angel and the gang here because I needed my friends," Cordelia said. She was sitting on the couch between Angel and Xander.

"Is everything all right?" she asked. "I just saw Luke at the hospital. He'd came on an ambulance. Bucky is staying with Savannah until a social worker gets there."

"We have some news," Xander said, looking at Cordelia, who gave a slight nod.

Buffy braced herself for a blow. Why would Cordy call her old friends here unless something was wrong? "What is it?" she asked.

"I'm pregnant," Cordelia said.

"Seriously?" Buffy asked, her eyes wide.

"We're having a baby," Xander said. "It's mine."

Buffy's brain tried to process that but couldn't. "Oh, wow!" she finally got out. "I didn't realize you guys were back together."

"Oh, we're not," Cordelia said, waving her hand dismissively. "We got drunk and hooked up one time—we were stupid."

"But I guess lucky, too," Xander said, squeezing her hand.

Cordelia smiled. "Yea," she said.

"So we're happy?" Buffy asked, not sure how she was supposed to react. Anya had gone been several weeks, but how long were you supposed to wait?

Xander nodded. "Yea, I think so," he said.

Buffy grinned and hugged him. "Does Will know?" she asked.

"No, I just found out," he said.

"I sort of told all of them at once," Cordelia said. "Sorry, I didn't wait for you."

"That's okay," she said. She looked at everyone. "Welcome."

"That's Lorne," Cordelia said. "I don't think you've met him. He's an empath demon. If you sing for him, he'll tell you your future."

"Cool," Buffy said. She recognized Gunn. "You're Gunn, right?"

"Yes. Good to see you. This is Fred," he said.

"Hi," Fred said, pushing up her glasses and giving Buffy a shy smile.

Buffy liked her instantly. "Hello. I've heard a lot about you guys," she said. "Glad you could come for a visit even though I'm surprised that you made it in the chaos."

"Well, we live in L.A.," Gunn said with a shrug.

"Wolfram & Hart has their own plane," Angel admitted. "Landing was a bit tricky, but we managed."

"I'm hungry," Cordelia said. "Do you think we can find a place open in the nightmare outside?"

"I saw a diner lit up as we drove up," Gunn said.

"I know the place," Wesley said.

Everyone stood to go eat. "I'm going to clean up," Buffy said. She looked at Xander. "Let's call Will."

"I'll catch up with you guys," Xander said.

After everyone left, Buffy asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm a bit shell shocked," he admitted, sitting back down on the sofa.

"But happy?" Buffy prodded.

"I'm not unhappy," Xander said. "I always wanted kids, and Cordelia will be a great mother."

"Anya would be happy for you," Buffy said, sitting next to him and leaning her head against his shoulder.

"After she finished giving me the funny syphilis," he said with a small smile.

Buffy laughed. "You might be right about that," she said. "Having a baby is such a grownup thing to do."

"Yea," Xander said. "I don't think we can pretend anymore. We're adults."

"Do you think I'll ever be that grown up?" Buffy asked.

Xander moved his head to read her expression. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Have a baby," she said.

"Is that something you've been thinking about?" Xander asked, wishing Willow was there.

Buffy nodded. "Not much, but it crossed my mind. Laura and Clint are going to have another one, and I love being an aunt," Buffy said. "It's cool to see how much one parent is in one kid but not the other. I couldn't help wondering what my kid would be like."

"And do you see Bucky as the daddy?" he asked.

"Maybe," Buffy admitted, blushing. "It's way too soon for us—I know. But it's nice to dream. That poor girl, Savannah, just lost her mom and has no one. It breaks my heart. Bucky and I were talking about helping her."

"You know, you aren't really in a position to foster since you have a pregnant roommate," he pointed out.

"Well, what if Bucky and Cordy switched places? Or Cordy and the baby move into the empty apartment we have in the building?" Buffy said. "I have Tony Stark as a reference. I'm sure I'd get approved."

"If that's something you really want to do, you should do it," Xander said. "She's at the age where you don't have the baby stuff to deal with—just the brattiness."

"Hey, I put up with Dawn," Buffy reminded him. "I think I can manage a six-year old who just lost her mother."

"Let's call Willow and tell her the news," Xander said. "Then go get cleaned up, so you can have a very serious conversation with Bucky about the future."

Buffy took a deep breath. "Oh boy. That sounds super grown up," she said, feeling excited but nervous.

Xander smiled. "It is," he said, pushing the number for Willow. He turned on the speaker phone.

"Hey, Will," he said. "I have some news."

"So do I," Willow said. "Warren Mears is behind all this crap that's been happening. Tony just made a citizen's arrest."

"I knew that perv couldn't be trusted!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Buffy?" Willow said.

"Oh, I have you on speaker phone," Xander said. "I wanted to tell you our news."

"Make it quick 'cause we've got to put the screws on Warren," Willow said.

"You're having too much fun," Xander said.

"It's a ride," Willow said.

"Well, you might wanna sit down for this," Xander warned.

"Huh?" Willow asked.

"I'm going to have a baby," Xander said.

"What?"

"I said I'm going to have a baby."

"You are? How's that possible?"

"I got a girl pregnant."

"You _what_?"

"Cordelia. I got Cordelia pregnant. She's having my baby."

There was silence.

"I gotta sit down," Willow said.

"You okay?" Xander asked.

"And I'm going to be a foster mom to this little girl whose mom just died because of Warren, so tell him that I'm going to kick his ass as soon as I can get to New York," Buffy shared.

"This is too much," Willow said. "How? You and Cordy got back together and didn't tell me? I didn't know you were ready to date again."

"I'm not—not really," he said. "We had too much to drink one night. It was just a one-time thing."

"Are you sure? I'm mean she's not the girl we knew in high school," Willow said. "She's someone you could share your life with."

"I don't really think so, but right now we're just focusing on the baby," he said.

"It's okay that I tell Tara, right?" Willow asked.

"Of course," Xander said.

"And Buffy, I wanna hear all about this foster thing. Can I call you in a few hours?" Willow asked.

"Make it tomorrow," Buffy said. "I got to get back to the hospital and get some things in order."

"I'm really happy for you guys," Willow said.

"Thanks," Xander said. "We miss you. Stay safe."

"I will. Love you guys," Willow said, hanging up.

Xander put up his phone. "Well, I should go join everyone," he said. "Big day."

"This is going to be a great thing," Buffy said, smiling. She stood up with him and hugged him one last time before going to her room.

Xander might not have Anya anymore, but this was a wonderful thing. A baby with a woman he cared about—one that Buffy already knew and had become good friend with.

Life was funny that way.

Now she just had to get her own man to want a to build a family with her.

*****_Washington D. C.******_

Meg walked into the Pentagon, using her Pepper credentials. Her ability to hack wirelessly was coming in handy as she erased her image on every camera as soon as she showed up on it.

Then she began hacking into the Pentagon's mainframe, accessing their arsenal of weapons.

Alarms began to sound.

The assault on America had just begun.

******_The End******_

_Review please. The next story will be called "It Devours." Be watching for it._


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